uptake

[uhp-teyk]

noun

1. apprehension; understanding or comprehension; mental grasp.

   quick on the uptake.

2. an act or instance of taking up; a lifting.

   the uptake of fertilizer by machines.

3. Also called take-up. Machinery.,  a pipe or passage leading upward from below, as for conducting smoke or a current of air.

4. Physiology.,  absorption.

uptake

/ ˈʌpˌteɪk /

noun

1. a pipe, shaft, etc, that is used to convey smoke or gases, esp one that connects a furnace to a chimney

2. mining another term for upcast

3. taking up or lifting up

4. the act of accepting or taking up something on offer or available

5. informal,  quick to understand or learn

6. informal,  slow to understand or learn

Word History and Origins

Origin of uptake¹

1810–20; up- + take; compare take-up

Idioms and Phrases

see on the uptake.

Example Sentences

One possibility is that less ice leads to more photosynthesis at the surface, increasing nutrient uptake.

Read more on Science Daily

In its current policies scenario, the International Energy Agency forecast demand for oil rises to 113 million barrels per day through 2050, as electric vehicle uptake stalls outside of China and Europe.

Read more on MarketWatch

During these sessions, the researchers monitored heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen uptake efficiency, blood oxygen saturation, and how much effort participants used to breathe.

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It works by improving the body's sensitivity to insulin, reducing the amount of glucose produced by the liver, and enhancing glucose uptake by muscle cells.

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South Africa's government said the claims of a white genocide is "widely discredited and unsupported by reliable evidence" and pointed to the "limited uptake" of this offer by South Africans.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• awareness 
• grasp 
• insight 
• intelligence 
• judgment 
• knowledge 
• perception 
• realization 
• recognition 
• sense